I have visited Hoot a few times, and our experiences were mediocre to bad. Until the last couple of visits, this wasn’t really on the top of my must visit places in the area. About 2 months back, we were invited in for a bloggers’ table, and I found improved food and pretty good cocktails. Highlights from that meal include Pepperoni Pizza, Stuffed Chicken in Mushroom Sauce, Beetroot Risotto, Chicken Pot Stickers. The desserts hadn’t made much of an impression on me.

This long Easter weekend a few of us headed back for a small celebration. It had just rained, and we didn’t want to venture farther out than the immediate vicinity – it was supposed to be some snacks and quick drinks. Hoot now has set up an island bar, and has seating all around it. Not too cramped. We anticipated mosquitoes in the outside area where we sat, but it was fine. The DJ deck is on top of the bar, and also had some seating area there. Started off with some peri peri prawns, chicken pot stickers, fried anchovies and chicken tikka pizza. There were 4 beers on tap, Rochester Red IPA, Billingsgate Porter, Hyde Park Wheat and Belgian Saizon. Tapash and Ashwin got the IPA, while I picked the Belgian Saizon – good for a summer choice I thought. Som got her Pina Colada and then Cucumber Delight.

The food was great. The peri peri prawns were hot, they didn’t hold back the sauce! The pot stickers were very well done, we ended up ordering a repeat! The pizza was very nice as well. The fried anchovies was basic – and Ashwin did mention this to our server that it needed to be something more than what’s usually served at a standard Malayali place. The drinks were pretty good as well. The saizon was pale gold, spicy and light. The Rochester Red IPA – was fruity but smooth. Felt slightly diluted in the second serving though. The Cucumber Delight was a refreshing gin drink – we loved it.

In Summary

And by now, the crowd was starting to get in, the place nice and windy, and the music was just right! We stayed longer than we intended to, what with long island iced teas and test tube shots. The food menu in Hoot has seen an overhaul, and the outcome is definitely good. The service was good. The beers and desserts could be better, but this was an improvement over our previous visits. The waterbody around also needs some work. But hey, there’s always room for betterment. But a fun night in all, glad that Hoot has grounded itself finally!

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